To further develop our project: My Rock, we visited Le Hocq and walked down the beach towards Green Island, where we took photos of both the smaller objects and the wider landscape that surrounds those areas.

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Contact Sheets

Below are the images I took on my phone as my camera ran out of storage

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Editing Process

To start my editing process, I uploaded my images into Lightroom and went through the images using the ‘Pick’ and ‘Reject’ function to narrow my selection down.

Next I went through my selected images again and used the star rating function to select what I considered to be the best images out of my original selection.

These are the images from my phone.

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Final Images

These are the images I considered to be the strongest from this shoot after finishing the selection process.

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For this photoshoot in particular, I wanted to put a focus on making the images more lively and vibrant, to do this I simply upped the ‘vibrancy’ and ‘contrast’ to varying amounts on each photograph to make it stand out.

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Here I made black and white versions of each image. While that does go against the colourful aesthetic I was going for for this photoshoot, I still think the lines, shapes and tones on these images make for interesting compositions when black and white.

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Evaluation

I found this photoshoot to be very enjoyable to do (taking the photos and visiting the Société Jersiaise) and edit, and I am happy with the images I came out with. I was able to get close-up images, as well as more traditional landscapes, which gave me a wide selection to pick from for the final images. My Final Images mainly consist of close-ups with interesting lines and shapes, the subject matter consists primarily of rocks and seaweed, which will hopefully give my zine a consistent theme. The Final Images I got from the landscape images all depict some form of rock with a dramatic sky, which offers a nice contrast to the other close-up images.

What didn’t go so well was that my camera ran out of memory (because I forgot to clear it beforehand) and so I had to use my phone’s camera. While the images from that were still good, it caused some delay with the creation of this blog post. I will make sure that I am properly prepared for the next photoshoot.

The Société Jersiaise is one of the two Jersey archives that contains a vast amount of photographs detailing Jersey’s history and culture.

The Archive was founded in 1873 by a small group of islanders, it found a permanent location on 1893 in 9 Pier Road, where it continued to gain more members and collections. The first Bulletin Annuel was published in 1875 which acts as the Société’s main record of activities. The Société’s goals involve multiple sections that specialise in multiple fields involving bibliographic, cartographic, photographic and research collections to help preserve Jersey’s culture or heritage.

The Archive’s Website

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For this part of the project, our focus was specifically placed on the Société Jersiaise and Emile Guiton’s excavation of a particular site: La Motte (Green Island) and La Rocque, both of which we went to photograph.

Green Island

During the excavation, the Société found the remains of what is believed to be a Neanderthal necropolis containing multiple skeletons. Due to the necropolis being covered with sand, the remains were preserved in good conditions, considering they would have been thousands of years old. Some of the remains, in particular skulls and fragments of skulls, were collected and brought back to the archive where they were photographed in a studio by Guiton for documentation purposes.

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Emile F Guiton

Guiton was born in Jersey in 1879 and became one of the most prolific photographers not only in Jersey, but for the Société Jersiaise, as well as the wider world, as he was one of the first photographers to take a coloured photograph. Due to his interest for history, he became a member of the Société Jersiaise where he worked on the executive committee as honorary secretary, as well as being the editor the the Annual Bulletin, the Société’s main publication for their findings. As shown above, Guiton took part in photographing the findings of the Société, wishing to document the history of the island through his photographs. During the second world war, Guiton was one of the few photographers on the island granted a permit to take photographs during the occupation, which he used to document Jersey as historic artefacts.

Image Analysis

What I find interesting about this image is the way that the field and the people, crops and the background in the distance only make up about 1/3rd of the whole image, giving it an almost painterly, calming and grand look. Due to the image’s early origins, the colours are probably not 100% accurate, however I think this adds to the aesthetic of the image, as it seems to give the colour palette more variety (for example the shadows appear to have a dark purple-ish tone). This also gives the image a more painting-like look. In terms of the abundance of shadows, there is not that much shadow, as the image appears to be taken at noon in an open field. I also like the way the background trails off into the rocks found frequently on the outskirts of Jersey’s coast. Because of this, there is a clear difference between foreground, midground and background, with the haystacks and farmers anchoring the foreground. I think the farmers being place in the lower-centre of the image is effective as it makes them seem much smaller than the rest of the scene, giving the image an almost sublime aesthetic, while the soft colours and shapes seem to contradict that, making the image seem calmer.

In response to our Site of Special Interest photoshoot, we made sculptures using the images taken from that photoshoot, in order to explore the natural formations of the landscapes in those sites. In particular, we looked to mimic the jagged formations of the rocks found in those sites.

Early Set of Experiments

These are some of my early experiments, in these, I took the main object of the image out by putting the image on foam board and cutting it out using a Stanley knife, once I separated the rock from the background, I raised the rock up using smaller pieces of foam board and stacking them up. On my second one, I cut out the rocks like the first, but raised the background instead to create a different effect.

Experiment #1

This was my first idea, since I already had the original image made, I wondered how the rock would look elevated above the background. By stacking it on top of multiple pieces of foam board I was able to create this effect. As this was an experiment I was not too worried about the method of stacking the foam boards, however if I was to do this as a final sculpture I would likely use another, more secure method.

Experiment #2

This was the second experiment. This experiment was far more rough than the last, but the premise was pretty much the same, to separate the background and subject by elevating one, in this case I elevated the background (by using stacked pieces of foam board like the last experiment). My cutting in particular here was not the most successful, which made me look into more photographers, such as Koh Myung Keun, for another idea.

These sculptures were early ideas that I could use to get a better idea of how I could approach this task. While I am a fan of the first experiment piece in particular, I don’t think I will be taking this idea into the next stage.

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Next Set of Experiments

After researching Koh Myung Keun and his body of work, I found this image/sculpture that I found to be interesting due to it’s simple form, yet complex use of semi-transparent planes to display the images in an almost surreal way.

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Finding the Materials

To try to recreate the semi-transparent look of Koh Myung Keun’s images, I tried two different materials: sketching paper and acetate. The sketching paper turned out to be slightly too cloudy, which would have made it hard to see through, removing the illusion that Koh Myung Keun’s sculptures have. In addition, it seemed to darken the colour and remove some detail, which was not ideal.

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Next I used acetate, which turned out to be more effective than sketching paper, as it was fully see-through, and retained the detail and colour of the original images. In order to give the images more of a vibrant look on the acetate, I edited the images on Lightroom slightly to be more colourful.

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My next problem I had to solve was how I was going to sculpt the images in a similar way to Koh Myung Keun (in a school setting). To do this I found two boxes (one large and one small) made of planes of plastic that I can mount the acetate on and see through to the images on the other planes. I also found individual planes that I could put the acetate on and perhaps add to the sculpture in some way.

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Here is what the smaller box looks like after I had placed the acetate prints onto the sides of it. To join the acetate to the box I used double-sided tape as there was no permanent spray mount on-hand.

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I did the same with the two individual planes, as well as the larger box

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Later on in the project, I thought it would be a good idea to see how the boxes would look if I put the smaller one inside the bigger one and placed the two planes leaning against the smaller one inside.

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Final Sculpture(s)

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Evaluation

Overall I am happy with my sculptures as they resemble the style of Koh Myung Keun’s work fairly closely. I think being able to use acetate for the first time in years was a good way to not only remind myself on how to use it, but to also add some diversity to my final outcomes. I think using brighter colours for the sculptures was a good idea because it made my images aesthetic slightly different to Koh Myung Keun’s, giving mine a bit of originality. The colours also help make the sculpture stand out more, as the acetate would have likely removed some details if the images weren’t edited to adhere to it. I think my decision of using acetate over sketching paper was a good choice, as it made the sculpture much more alike Koh Myung Keun’s, however the cloudier properties of sketching paper might be able to be used in later projects.

If I was to do this project again, I would probably use a permanent spray mount to attach the acetate to the planes without leaving any marks (I don’t think the double-sided tape isn’t that noticeable but it would be a definite improvement). I also think it would be interesting to experiment with different shapes of the sculptures, this would have been difficult in a school setting but it would open more possibilities.

How do archives function as repositories of knowledge?

Archives, such as the Société Jersiaise, are used to store and preserve documents, photographs, objects and other forms of data and information, providing its users with repository of knowledge on subjects regarding human history, to archaeology and other alike subjects. The Société Jersiaise is a photographic archive founded in 1873, where its early members collected and created records of Jersey and published them in Annual Bulletin. The Société gained more members and collections over the years, with local photographers such as Emile Guiton and Henry Mullins, who ‘realised that history was being made’, they decided ‘recording in permanent photography local prehistoric monuments, buildings and ruins’ in order to better preserve Jersey’s culture and history, was crucial. Archives such as this allow people to view the world as it was, at that time, giving a wider sense of community, as well as a more knowledgeable understanding of the island, all by providing public access to these records.

However, some archives, such as a family or personal archive, are not limited to a building/company. Photobooks, albums, diaries are all ways of recording a family’s/individual’s history and their more intimate nature allows them to be organised in a way that’s more meaningful to those connected to them, perhaps similar to that of a collection of art. Modern technologies allow for archives, such as the Société Jersiaise to be published digitally, allowing access from anywhere, likewise, a personal archive can be published on social medias to be shared with friends and family.  

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One particular photographer whose work has been archived by the Société Jersiaise is one of the most important photographers both in Jersey and the wider world: Thomas Sutton. Sutton’s importance comes from his work in the study and practise of photography, not only were his photographs artistically appealing, but his publications, such as the Dictionary of Photography, and inventions, including the first single lens reflex camera, as well as the first permanent colour photograph, were all important in the world of photography.

Sutton had a workshop/studio located in St. Brelades bay from 1847 to around 1854, where it burnt down, during which he was patronised by Prince Albert and French photographer Louis Blanquart-Evrard acted as his partner. During his time in Jersey, he photographed several landscapes around the island, including both natural and man-made structures, as well as a few portraits, and published Souvenir de Jersey, the first photographic publication with Jersey as its subject. Some of his images have been recorded by the Société Jersiaise, as these images provide both in aesthetic and artistic, as well as a historic way. Some of the recorded images include ruins of old buildings and towers, sights that would not have been seen in the modern day without the use of an archive, which links clearly to the importance of archives and their function as a repository of knowledge and culture. His work with Blanquart-Evrard also provides an insight into the processes of photography used at the time, Sutton’s being the calotype process during his time in Jersey.  

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This image is an example of the Calotype process Sutton and Blanquart-Evrard worked on during their time in Jersey, taken roughly in the year 1854. This method of performing the Calotype process was first published in France in 1847, by Blanquart-Evrard himself. The process involves placing a sheet of paper with silver chloride in a camera obscura to create a negative. The difference between William Talbot’s original process involves coating the silver chloride on the surface by brushing on the surface of the paper, while Blanquart-Evrard’s process involves fully coating the paper in potassium iodide and silver nitrate by having the paper ‘float’ in the solution.  

The image depicts a ruined tower, likely on the west coast of Jersey in St. Ouens, with what appears to be only about one half of the tower remaining, giving the ruin an almost artistic tone akin to a photomontage cut-out. The viewpoint of the image allows the top half of the tower to be positioned in the sky, giving it a clear background that emphasises the form of the bricks and contrast of the shades on them. There are two kinds of lines in this image, both are divided by the natural and unnatural aspects of the image, which was likely intentionally done by Sutton. There are irregular lines made by the plants, sands and rocks, as well as straight lines made by the windows and edges of the tower, the difference of the types of lines emphasises the differences between the two, putting more of a focus on the tower itself. It is likely that this image was taken for documentary purposes, however it is undeniable that Sutton intentionally used this particular composition to create an artistic flare. 

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By looking at images from the past, such as Sutton’s calotype works, we can indeed use them and, by extension, the archive that stores it as useful ways of gaining knowledge particularly about the past, whether that is our cultural, geological or artistical history. Sutton’s work (specifically in Jersey) mainly focusses on landscapes as their subject, however, there are many other photographers, such as Henry Mullins and William Collie, whose work has more social connotations, documenting people and their different cultures and occupations. It is these photographers that gives us a clearer image on Jersey’s social history and with the help of the context given to them by archives, we can gain greater knowledge on Jersey’s diverse culture.

As for my own work, I think archives can help me gain more context historically, culturally and socially about the island itself, which will tie nicely into ‘Island-ness’ and hopefully give each of my images more meaning. As a photographer, my response to the wide knowledge an archive can provide would be to research a particular event or theme that I am interested in and link my own photographs to those documents, be it by adapting them to the modern age, or adapting the modern styles to the archived ones. 

Moodboard

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Artist Reference: Koh Myung Keun 

Koh Myung Keun is a Korean, Seoul-based modern and contemporary artist and photographer born in 1964, whos work begins with the inquiry of “defining truth”. He has held multiple solo and group exhibitions featuring his work, ranging from a focus on the ” ideal human figure” as to “create fiction”, to a focus on the Asian cities visited by him, creating unique looking landscapes of those areas.

He uses sculptures made from semi-transparent layers of digital prints, made from film laminated with plastic, to give his sculptures a memorable effect when viewing them. The name of his ‘Blending Space’ exhibition perfectly describes his works, especially the landscape-focused ones, as he seems to blend the images together with his technique of placing the images together

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A video of Koh Myung Keun describing his works.

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Similarities and Differences between his Works

Koh Myung Keun’s work usually involves his signature use of semi-transparent material, which gives his photographs a physical structure, but at the same time (especially when using more than one photograph), makes the images themselves lose regular structure and become something more abstract. Koh Myung Keun also tends to change up the shape of the sculptures between each one, giving the sculptures a sense of originality, however, if one of the works is within a series, then it may be likely that he will use a similar, or the same, shape.

One clear difference between his works is that in some sculptures he puts and emphasis on the human body/form (such as Body House 9) and tries to make an abstract image using little colour and soft lines, while others, he uses more industrial landscape scenes such as a building face or interior, which tend to use more colour and harsher shapes/lines (such as Building 62). Some of his works include more natural and cultural subject matter (such as Buddha 1). I think it is interesting that he named a series of his body-focussed works ‘Body House’, as ‘body’ and ‘house’ seem to contrast with each other thematically, however the ‘house’ part of the name comes from the structure itself, while the ‘body’ takes from the photograph itself.

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Image/Sculpture Analysis

This sculpture appears to be made up of four sides, each with the same photograph. Due to this and the semi-transparent nature of the images, a 3D effect is created, this is especially apparent with the washing line, as it seems to fully form a square with an appropriate depth. The shape of the sides gives the sculpture a sense of verticality, which allows the photograph to inherit this sense of verticality, as it allows for a taller frame. This shows much more of the building than what would have been seen if Koh Myung Keun had used a square, since the second floor and leaves that seem to adorn it would be cut out. The photographs themselves seem to be taken from the second floor, giving the lower half of the image a downwards viewpoint. Due to the images being printed onto semi-transparent material, the image’s colour has slightly faded, I think this fits with the image itself, as it gives it a softer look that pairs well with the homely subject matter of the image. The palette is fairly limited, with the image being made up mainly of greys, reds and greens, all of these colours have a fairly warm tone.

To respond to the genre of Still Life, I went into the school studio to take my own still life pictures using objects taken from SSIs around Jersey. I used two stations: one with a semi-reflective infinity curve and one with a paper background and base, to create two different colours.

Contact Sheets

Editing Process

As Still Life images tend to require less editing than landscape or portrait images (as they tend to be more controlled), less editing than usual was required for this shoot.

To start the editing process I removed the spots on the images using the spot remover tool on lightroom as there were a few smaller bits of pieces left on the station we used to take pictures.

Next, I chose the best images using the ‘Pick’ and ‘Reject’ (Or ‘Flagging’) function on Lightroom.

As well as the Star Rating Function.

Next, I edited the images themselves by manually changing the exposure, contrast and temperatures of the images to make them stand out a bit more, but not too much as to remove them from their original aesthetic.

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Edited Images:

These are the final edited images from this shoot, the changes I made to them are minimal as still life photographs do not need to be changed as much.

I also made some black and white versions for some of the images, which is gives each image a completely different tone.

Best Images

A Still Life image is an art form that involves using an arrangement of inanimate objects as its primary subject matter. Traditionally, Still Life images typically include household objects (likely due to their popular use as a home decoration), primarily fruits and objects such as glasses, bowls and flowers (all due to their colourful appearance). Still life images tend to range from simple, mundane compositions, to lavish/extravagant ones to represent wealth.

A Vanitas image is a form of Still Life that focuses on heavier macabre and morbid themes, such as the inevitability of death and the mortal state of life. Unlike general Still Life images, Vanitas images use objects to symbolise time (such as a candle or hourglass) or mortality, as such these images tend to garner a more thoughtful audience. These images tend to be less colourful, however, they still include colourful objects such as flowers and fruits due to their symbolic link to life, death and decay.

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Examples of Still Life/Vanitas Images (Paintings and Photographs)

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History

Some of the earliest instances of Still Life art comes in the form of Ancient Roman floor mosaics and paintings, Ancient Greek paintings and vase-paintings and Ancient Egyptian paintings found on tombs (as it was believed that the food and drink in the paintings would manifest for the deceased in the afterlife), all depicting everyday food, objects, animals and flowers. It was the Romans who started using a human skull to represent human mortality.

Considered the first Still Life painting, Italian Painter Jacopo de’Barbari painted this image in 1504. It clearly links to the main aesthetics of a still life image, with the quarry and items used to hunt it (gauntlets and what seems to be a bolt of sorts) arranged in a way that binds them together seems to represent the daily life of a person of the time. It could be argued that this image has themes of a Vanitas artwork as well, with its more morbid subject matter that represents death.

As photography became more accessible as an art form, photographers leaned towards Still Life images due to the subject matter being still, inanimate objects which made it far easier to photograph, due to the long exposures of old photographic techniques. In a similar way to vanitas images, William Talbot mentioned that, like the use of flowers, fruits and skulls, the process of making the photograph itself links to the idea of longevity and mortality as one mistake in the process will cause the images to fade or ‘decay’. Early Still Life photographs obviously lacked the colouring of painted Still Life’s due to their inability to capture it with the methods of the time.

As the medium of photography developed over time, Still Life photographs became more detailed not only in shape and form, but with colour also, allowing the photographs to take on a form similar to the older paintings. Some more modern Still Life images take the genre more seriously, with more traditional themes of time and mortality, while others experiment with arrangement of the subject matter (and the subject matter itself), colour and the overall tone of the scene.

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Image Analysis

This image is made up of many different types of flowers, which gives the composition a variety of colour and shapes. It seems that the flowers themselves are made brighter in order to contrast with the dark background, while their leaves are made into a darker tone, almost fading into the dark background. The colour palette of this image mainly consists of pinks, reds, oranges and yellows, with darker green and blue tones seen around the collection of flowers. The focal point of the image is in the centre, being the brightest part of the image, while the lines created by the other flowers, stems and leaves lead the viewer upwards towards the large sunflower at the top of the group.

While this painting may not seem exactly like a Vanitas in terms of aesthetics, the image does include a small butterfly dangling from a leaf underneath all of the flowers. In a Vanitas artwork, butterflies tend to symbolise death and rebirth, as well as time as a result of those two. This lends a more macabre tone to the image. Furthermore, the flowers themselves could also represent the mortality of humans as well as nature as a whole (especially with the lone petals seen at the bottom of the plant pot).

My Rock

The Bay I have chosen to photograph throughout the summer is Greve de Lecq, as it is not only close to my home, but it is also a place in which I have spent a lot of time in. This area also has a historical interest, with the Greve de Lecq Barracks (built in the early 17th century), as well as Le Câtel Fort (built in the 18th century) being located here.

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Photoshoot 1

Plan

What?	I will take pictures around the bay – Larger, traditional landscape images of the whole bay or close up shots of objects or details in the landscape. I will also attempt to take pictures of Le Câtel Fort, however the fort is walled over so I may struggle.
Where?	I will try and take pictures of Greve de Lecq from a higher viewpoint, which will allow me to get a view of the whole bay at once. I think this approach will be a good starting point.
When?	I will aim for this photoshoot to take place during a foggy/cast over day, perhaps during midday to make the sky clear, and making the lighting flat.
Why?	This will allow me to make the images more effective in black and white.
How?	There is a pathway above the bay that will allow me to take images from a high viewpoint.

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Contact Sheet

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Photoshoot 1 Review and Evaluation

Some of the best images from this shoot:

Photoshoot Evaluation

I think this photoshoot went well as I stayed close to my original plan; I managed to capture the overcast, grey feel I was going for from the plan which helps make the greens/greys/blues in the images stand out more. The images of the bay itself were taken from a higher-up vantage point, like I had wanted in the plan. I also got the chance to take up-close pictures, giving them a more abstract look and zooming in on the lesser seen parts of the bay.

However, like I had thought, I was not able to get many good pictures of Le Câtel Fort (mainly just the walls around it – however I do like some of the images with the walls as it gives the images a colder/less natural look). To make the photoshoot better I could have maybe gone to different viewpoints to see how the bay looks at various heights and angles, in the next photoshoot I might change the focused viewpoint to be different to this one.

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Photoshoot 2

Plan

What?	I will take pictures of the bay with a greater focus on the style of a traditional landscape image (with a wider field of view).
Where?	I will take pictures from a grounded view point, which will allow me to take head-on and upwards angled pictures of the bay.
When?	I will aim to take the pictures at sunrise/sunset (preferably on a sunny/clear day) to give the shadows and colours of the image more depth.
Why?	My previous photoshoot had an emphasis on having a high-up viewpoint that looked over the whole bay from above, as well as some close up/abstract images of the surroundings, I hope this photoshoot will be different enough to photograph more aspects of the bay.
How?	I will likely stand on the beach or just before it to get images looking out to sea or towards land.

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Contact Sheet

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Photoshoot 2 Review and Evaluation

Some of the best images from this shoot:

Photoshoot Evaluation

I think this photoshoot was successful as I was able to follow my plan fairly closely, I was also able to take pictures of the bay from several locations with the setting sun’s light illuminating each image to give it a warm tone. The sky itself was cloudy enough to where it fills the sky and creates more depth in each image, often contrasting the warmer colours on the landscape with its own colder tones, creating a nice juxtaposition in some images.

If I was to do this photoshoot again, I would like to take pictures when the sun has set even lower, so the sky itself is filled with more orange/pink/purple colours, which could help give the images more colour. Likewise, I could also do the photoshoot at dawn instead of dusk, as this would illuminate the left side of the bay, as opposed to the right side at dusk, this would allow me to explore more areas of the bay with the warm, strong lighting of a rising sun.

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Photoshoot 3

Plan

What?	For this photoshoot, I will primarily focus on taking close-ups of the rock, sand, seaweed and other natural patterns I find on the bay.
Where?	I will be standing on the bay or the rocks themselves, most likely using a worm’s eye view, or from a more level viewpoint by crouching down (I may also be able to find some patterns by looking straight down from a birds eye view).
When?	Later in the day so natural light is a bit more intense, which will make the shadows more contrasting with the lighter parts of the image. I will also make sure it is sunny so light is abundant.
Why?	Hopefully this will differ from the other photoshoots by consisting of more close up shots. This will help show different aspects of the bay by focusing not on the bay as a whole, but the smaller parts inside of it.
How?	I will look for interesting patterns in the sand/rocks/cliff faces/plants found around the bay to create interesting, abstract images.

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Contact Sheet

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Photoshoot 3 Review and Evaluation

Some of the best images from this shoot:

Photoshoot Evaluation

I think this photoshoot complements the other two photoshoots nicely with its focus on close-up, or, physically closer, subject matter. I think the images themselves came out nicely, with a nice focus on the patterns found on the natural landscape of Greve de Lecq. The weather was good for the photoshoot and was similar to, or the same as, the weather described in the plan, which allowed me to get some interesting images that make use of shadow (such as the 4th image down from the selected images above).

However, while I did manage to get plenty of close-up images, I feel like I could have focused more on capturing the patterns, lines, shapes and other formal elements of the landscape, as some images do seem to be taken from a few steps back. If I was to do this photoshoot again I would possibly try going later in the day (on a sunny/clear day) for even more distinct shadows, and I would put more of a focus on close-up images of the landscape, as well as possibly, a larger variety of the landscapes themselves.

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Photoshoot 4

Plan

What?	For this photoshoot I plan on taking images of the rocks, waves and ripples in and around the sea.
Where?	On the right side of the bay (looking towards sea), there is a rock formation that juts out into the sea, this will allow me to take closer pictures of the water from various angles.
When?	Later in the day, around late afternoon-early evening, on a day with clear skies, will give me good lighting to light up the waves and ripples in the water, while the clear sky will give the water more colour.
Why?	I think this will offer another photoshoot that will contrast with the more traditional landscape photoshoots I have taken throughout the project. It will also allow me to zoom in on a part of the bay I am particularly fond of and otherwise haven’t fully captured.
How?	I will try to stand near/on the edge of the rock to capture the waves breaking on the rocks, as well as the calmer ripples.

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Contact Sheet

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Photoshoot 4 Review and Evaluation

Some of the best images from this shoot:

Photoshoot Evaluation

I like the way the images from this photoshoot came out, to me, the images gave a refreshing contrast to the other images. I had followed the plan successfully and came out with images that capture the movement of the sea, as well as the rock formations that surround it. I think the day I chose to do the photoshoot was an appropriate one, as the reflections offer a subtle touch of colour to the sea that would not be seen on an overcast day, in addition, the sunlight gives the highlights on the sea more vibrancy, which contrasts with the darker parts of it.

Looking back, I think it would have been more interesting/successful if I took images from more vantage points, such as around the cliffs, instead of just the rocks on the bay itself. I could have also waited for the tide to be out, which would have revealed a lot of hidden rocks and other formations that would have been interesting to photograph.

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My Family

To start my research, I found objects (or a box of objects) that holds significance for me. I created a small, homemade studio using an infinity curve made with paper and photographed the more interesting objects, as well as the box itself to see if that would make for an interesting composition.

Here are some of the images from that shoot that I thought were somewhat interesting.

Looking at the images closer, I could see that some of the images were fairly dark, or under-exposed (this can be seen in the first two of the images shown), if I was to do this photoshoot again, I would try to make sure the lighting was strong enough to make the images clear, but not too bright.

I think it would be interesting to retake these images in the school studio, with access to different background and lighting options, which could give the images more variety.

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Next I looked through some old photobooks that contained chiefly images of my siblings and I when we were younger, however most of, if not all of them, are difficult to recreate due to family issues that span throughout the summer.

To start making the Joiner, I had to find and mark the images I would use for the joiner to make them easier to find and use.

Next I edited an image to how I wanted it to look, then I used the synchronise function on Lightroom to make sure each image looks the same exposure/contrast-wise.

Then I exported them from Lightroom into small/medium sized files so they can be used in photoshop, in order to create the joiner

In photoshop, I used the Photomerge tool to generate the photo joiner automatically.

I selected the images I wanted to use and ticked the ‘Blend Images Together’ option

After that, this is what was generated. I like the way the joiner is somewhat imperfect on the top-right, it gives the image a more jagged look.

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Experimentation

Here I made a Black and White version to see how it would look.

Here I experimented on the image by hiding some layers, removing chunks from the original joiner. I think this looks interesting as the makes the edge of the joiner (which is usually just straight lines) appear more irregular.

Here is another experimentation where, instead of hiding individual layers, I used the selection tool to delete squares/rectangles from the image to see what effect that would create.

Here I flattened the photo joiner and applied a drop shadow to it to give it a more 3D look, as if it was a physical joiner.

Here I have made another photo joiner using the ‘cylindrical’ setting on the photomerge tool.

Here I was inspired by artist Daniel W. Farnden to make some parts of the image black and white. I like the way the colour and the black and white segments go well together.

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Second Outcome

This is another photo joiner I have made, instead of using the automate photo merge tool on photoshop, I manually placed the images together. I like the effect this makes as it makes some images brighter than others, in addition, I purposefully made some of the images blend incorrectly together to give the rock a more jagged look.

I have made a second version of this photo joiner where I have been even rougher with the placement of the images, giving the rock a distorted look.

In this version I wanted to see how the image would look if I flipped it and put them together. I like the effect this creates as it makes it easier to see the image in different ways/angles, which sometimes can change where the image draws our attention.

Third Outcome

For this joiner, I wanted to attempt to create an abstract shape using the images taken of the edge of the rock, allowing me to put them in a circular arrangement, creating a circle surrounded by sky. I chose a dark, mustardy colour as it pairs well with the blue of the sky, but doesn’t interfere with the image due to it’s dullness.

I made a black and white version of this image to see how it would look, I like this version as the sky separates the rock with the dark background, as well as how it creates a greater contrast between the bright and dark parts.

In this version, I cut out the edges of the joiner and made it circular to match the rough shape of the rock formation in the centre.

Here I have completely removed the sky to see how the rock would look by itself, I like the way this looks as an abstract image.

Here I experimented by changing the hue of the rock to a different colour (in this case purple) to see how it would look, I like the way this looks as it further abstracts the rock.

Here is a black and white version, I made the background slightly brighter to give the image a more vibrant look. I like the look of this image as it keeps the cold and angular properties from the stone while staying vibrant.

Here I copied each rock and changed the hue and size of each rock and made the background a very dark blue to match with the colours better, and perhaps give the image a space-like look. I like the effect this creates, as it looks like a collection of special rocks or something similar. While this has deviated slightly from the photo joiner technique, I think that this experimentation goes well with the rocks in the images.

Here are a few more examples of different colour combinations I thought went well with this image (including a black and white version).

After this set of experiments, I wondered how the image would look if I changed the hue of the whole image. I think this effect is interesting as it gives the image an abstract look.

Fourth Outcome

This outcome is a physical joiner I made by printing out the images in a 9 x 13 cm size, cutting them out and placing them on the black side of the window mount to create the joiner in a more traditional way. This was my first attempt at creating a joiner physically and I think it turned out quite well.

Final Images

Single Image

Joiner

Evaluation (For the Joiners)

I like the way my joiners came out – both the digital and physical ones. In particular, I thought the experimentation part of this project was the most fun and expressive, and it allowed me to explore the joiner technique further. During my experimentation, I focused on using colour and shapes towards my later experiments, which I think gave the joiners more ‘pop’. I chose the black and white rock on a mustard background as the final image because I think it has a good mix between contrast of colour and shape (being the rock), as well as the less complex background.

As a class, we took a trip to L’etacq to visit the four geopark sites around that area: Le Petit Etacquerel, Le Grand Etacquerel, Le Pinnacle, Le Pulec.

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Editing

For my first round of editing, I used the ‘pick’ and ‘reject’ function on lightroom to narrow my image selection down to around 30 images.

Next, I went through these images and rated them out of 5 using the star rating function in lightroom.

After, I assigned a colour to each image further narrow down my selection. (I used blue for the images I plan on using for the Joiners I will make).

At this point, I have narrowed my image selection down to 9 images which I consider to be the best from this photoshoot. I will take these images into further editing/experimentation

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Final Edits

These are the edited versions of my best images from this photoshoot.

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I have made Black and White versions of each image as I think it complements the overall lighting and form of each image.

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Best Final Images

I selected these two images as my best final images from this photoshoot. I think these images are a good representation of both the more traditional landscape images and the more abstract, close up images that I took during this photoshoot.

This image was taken around Le Pulec, displaying the headlands and rock formations seen around that area, being one of the reasons why this area is considered a geopark/SSI. The tone in this image is fairly dark, when editing I made the image ever so slightly darker in tone to complement the darker greens, greys and browns in the image. There are several patterns in this image, such as the soft pattern of clouds in the sky, the denser pattern of plants on the headlands, and the rigid, angular patterns seen on the rocks. These patterns help give the image an organic feel, while also separating those separate parts of the image more. The shapes created by the rocks and plants are fairly angular yet natural.

This image was also taken around Le Pulec, around the slipway down to the beach itself, the image clearly shows a unique example of geology in that area, once again showing why the landscape in this area is protected and considered a part of Jersey’s heritage. The tone in this image is slightly brighter than the first image, I made this decision while editing as I thought it would allow the edges of the rocks to be seen more clearly. I like this image as it is made up of very simple shapes, mainly triangles, that give the image a very uniform look. This contrasts with the natural subject matter of the image. This image is made almost entirely of nearly-straight lines, giving the image a strangely unnatural, yet natural look.

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Photoshoot Evaluation

I think this was a successful photoshoot, in the sense that I thought my final images were strong images, and I felt I learned more on how to look deeper into the landscapes, as seen in the images where I went particularly close to a certain rock face or feature, as well as wider, more traditional landscapes. I think the rock formations in and around Le Pinnacle, Le Pulec and Le Petit/Grand Etacquerel provided a familiar landscape for me, while also providing a new opportunities to photograph things I may not have seen in the past.

What Went Well:

I feel like I was able to develop my skills in landscape photography, as this photoshoot has given me more experience in taking images to create photo joiners, as well as more traditional images.

How I can Improve:

I found some of my images came out slightly blurry, I don’t know if that was something to do with the camera/settings itself or my own camera handling, next time I will try to ensure my images come out as best they can by making sure the settings on the camera are correct, and I go a bit slower while taking my images.